Pakistan: Internally displaced children miss education in tribal areas
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 31 March 2011 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Pakistan: Internally displaced children miss education in tribal areas, 31 March 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d9580432.html [accessed 24 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Chronic under-financing of public school systems has denied half of Pakistan's poorest children access to education, according to UNESCO, with internally displaced children worst affected. 600,000 children from Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province missed one school year due to their displacement in 2009 and 2010.
Children who had recently returned home after being displaced from Orakzai Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been forced to study in tents after 68 schools were destroyed by militants or air strikes. One-third of the pupils missed their annual secondary-school exam, with the government failing to provide alternative facilities for those without secure access. Schools in some parts of the agency are still closed due to military operations. Girls and female teachers have been prevented from going to school, even in areas with less visible militant presence.
Meanwhile, returnees have continued to face new threats which have led to their secondary displacement. After defying Taliban threats and the kidnapping of 23 elders, some members of the Mehsud tribe who had returned to their areas of origin in South Waziristan were displaced again after Wazir tribesmen in their home area demolished their houses. The Wazir tribesmen had blamed the returning Mehsuds for a militant attack which led the government to prevent the access of food and medicines to the area.
See also: IDMC Pakistan country page
